Leicester moved back to the top of the Premier League with a stunning 2-1 victory over champions Chelsea on Monday Night Football.

A goal either side of half-time from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez was enough to secure the points, despite a late scare, as Jose Mourinho's side remain just one point above the relegation zone.

It was a fairly cagey start, with both teams well aware of the importance of the tie - Leicester could move ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City to go top, while Chelsea were desperate to make up ground on their rivals.

There was a worrying moment for Chelsea after 12 minutes, when Thibaut Courtois fumbled a simple cross to give Leicester a chance to open the scoring. He gathered it at the second time of asking, but it was symptomatic of the Blues' season so far - something just isn't right at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides were forced into early changes, with Danny Drinkwater and Eden Hazard picking up injures after fairly innocuous challenges.

The Leicester midfielder was replaced by Andy King midway through the first half after pulling his hamstring, and Hazard had to make way for Pedro after appearing to injure his hip just a few minutes later.

The match came to life shortly after the half-hour mark, when Leicester took the lead from nowhere. Unsurprisingly, it was Mahrez and Vardy linking again, with the latter grabbing his 15th league goal of the season.

Right winger Mahrez, so impressive this season, fired in a dangerous ball from the right, with Vardy well-placed to get in between John Terry and Kurt Zouma. He knocked it first-time past a helpless Courtois to give Leicester the lead, as chants of "We're top of the league" rang around the King Power Stadium.

Almost immediately Chelsea went down the other end looking to level things up, with manager Mourinho less than impressed with his team.

Willian whipped a corner in from the right for Nemanja Matic to rise above the defence, but his looping header could only clip the top of the crossbar on its way out for a goal-kick.

As the second half began, you could have been forgiven for expecting Chelsea to be on top as they searched for an equaliser. Alas, it was Leicester who continued to impress.

Just three minutes after the break, Mahrez netted his 11th of the campaign to double the home side's lead. The ball came across to the Algerian winger at the back post, who found himself in acres of space.

Quickly he was closed down by Cesar Azpilicueta, but the in-form Leicester man turned the defender left and right, back and forth, before eventually shaping to shoot on his left foot. A wonderful curling effort nestled in the far corner to double the home side's lead over the champions.

From there, Mourinho's men did carve some chances, and much of the second-half pressure was theirs. Pedro almost pulled one back when the ball fell to him in the box, but his effort was always rising and ended up in the stand behind Kasper Schmeichel's goal.

And the Foxes keeper came to the rescue just seconds later when Diego Costa found himself one-on-one. The Chelsea man did everything he could, but Schmeichel made himself big and was able to divert the ball over the bar.

Perhaps the away side's best chance came from the resulting corner, when the ball fell to Branislav Ivanovic, unmarked at the back post. Two yards out, and with an empty net to aim at, the ball bounced off the defender's heel and way cleared.

Eventually, Chelsea got the goal they were looking for, but it proved to be too little, too late for last season's Premier League champions. An inch-perfect ball from Pedro from the left found substitute Loic Remy, who powered a header into the back of the net.

Despite more late pressure, a spirited performance from Leicester earned them three more points, taking them to 35 for the season. 16 matches, and 10 wins from them... just how far can this team go?

Player ratings

Chelsea: Courtois (5), Ivanovic (6), Zouma (6), Terry (6), Azpilicueta (5), Ramires (6), Matic (6), Willian (7), Oscar (6), Hazard (6), Costa (6)

Subs used: Fabregas (6), Pedro (6), Remy (7)

Leicester: Schmeichel (8), Simpson (7), Morgan (7), Huth (6), Fuchs (6), Mahrez (9), Drinkwater (6), Kante (8), Albrighton (8), Ulloa (7), Vardy (8)

Subs used: Inler (6), King (6), Okazaki (6)

Teams

Leicester City Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan (c), Huth, Fuchs, Mahrez (Inler 82), Drinkwater (King 17), Kante, Albrighton, Ulloa, Vardy (Okazaki 88)
Subs Not Used Schwarzer, Dyer, Wasilewski, Benalouane
Booked Vardy, Huth
Goals Vardy 34, Mahrez 48

Chelsea Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry (c) (Fabregas 53), Azpilicueta, Ramires, Matic, Willian, Oscar (Remy 65), Hazard (Pedro 31), Costa
Subs Not Used Begovic, Mikel, Kenedy, Cahill
Booked
Goals Remy 77

Attendance 32,054

Referee Mark Clattenburg